Old Uncle Joe has stated that he is planning to issue all federal employees a noticeable pay increase for the year 2023.
As part of a series of letters to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Vice President Kamala Harris in her capacity as President of the Senate, Biden officially announced his coming plans to issue all federal government employees a pay raise of 4.1% across-the-board, with an average locality-base pay increase of 0.5%; meaning that roughly 2.1 million federal government employees are slated to get raises of 4.6% on average. These pay increases will most likely go into effect as of the first of the year 2023.
“Title 5 [of the] United States Code, authorizes me to implement alternative plans for pay adjustments for civilian Federal employees covered by the General Schedule and certain other pay systems if, because of ‘national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare,’ I view the increases that would otherwise take effect as inappropriate,” stated Biden in the letter. “Accordingly, I have determined that it is appropriate to exercise my authority to set alternative pay adjustments for 2023. Specifically, I have determined that for 2023, the across-the-board base pay increase will be 4.1 percent and locality pay increases will average 0.5 percent, resulting in an overall average increase of 4.6 percent for civilian Federal employees, consistent with the assumption in my 2023 Budget.”
As part of federal law, if the president wants to put forth a pay raise above and beyond the standard raise, he must put his plan up for a vote to congress by the 1st of September of the preceding year and include the reasoning for the creation of the raise. While thinking about any such raises, the president must also think about “pertinent economic measures,” including the national GDP, the budget deficit, the unemployment rate, and Produce Price Index, and the Consumer Price Index.
Biden pointed out a massive recruitment crisis as the need for the raise. “Federal agencies have witnessed growing recruitment and retention challenges with Federal positions experiencing eroded compensation,” stated the president.
“Multiple years of lower pay raises for Federal civilian employees than called for under regular law have resulted in a substantial pay gap for Federal employees compared to the private sector,” he continued. “The American people rely on Federal agencies being managed and staffed by skilled, talented, and engaged employees, including those possessing critical skills sets, which requires keeping Federal pay competitive. This alternative pay plan decision will allow the Federal Government to better compete in the labor market to attract and retain a well‑qualified Federal workforce.”
As reported by The Washington Post, this pay increase will apply to more than 2.1 million employees of the executive branch. Despite everything, the raise can be canceled out if congress passes its own set of raises into law.